Flaming Heart
by Creidhe1
Summary: An unexpected incident, sends Sakura into the past. She has a chance at saving everything, but as the wise say 'Playing with the hands of times brings you the most deadly consequences,' However, Sakura was not one to be intimidated ...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hey there! Most of you might recognise this story :D For those who do, my account was unfortunately hacked. Well my gmail account did and I can't seem to log back in into my fanfiction account. So this is my new one! Yay. **

**I never thought I'd get this many support and love from you guys. You really made the experience of writing my first story an unforgettable one. So thank you! This version of the story will have more in depth. I realised I overlooked so many characters and so many other possibilities that could have turned the story even greater. So please enjoy the ride! **

DISCLAIMER: Naruto and all its contents belong exclusively to its rightful owners.

**Full summary:**** An unexpected incident, sends Sakura into the past. She has a chance at saving everything, but as the wise say 'Playing with the hands of times brings you the most deadly consequences,' However, Sakura was not one to be intimidated ...** **especially if a certain silver-haired nin was by her ****side.**

* * *

Flaming Heart

* * *

It came like a thief in the night.

The village's bells rang loudly, deafening its habitants with horror. Fire spread out like a plague, its flames licked the buildings with a strange haste. A lone figure watched the hospital crumble down. Her lower lip trembled and she bit it down; almost as if she was trying to erase any signs of weakness. A loud explosion startled her – turning around, the pink-haired kunoichi faced the hokage tower. Tsunade-shishou would need her. Pushing chakra to her feet, she hurried as her inner voice screamed with worry for her loved ones.

Sakura came to a sudden stop as she spotted the somewhat familiar silhouette. He had grown taller since she last saw him. A small part of her was ecstatic. He was back. He was home. However, the smarter part of her was not easily fooled.

"Sakura." The Kunoichi tensed when he pronounced her name. His voice was soft – very unlike him.

"What have you done?!" she yelled at him, pinning the dark-haired boy with a furious glare.

"You wouldn't understand."

There it was. The Sasuke she remembered all too well. The days when he always belittled her were neither forgotten nor forgiven.

"Why?" Her shoulders trembled slightly as she tried to supress the tears that threatened to fall down.

He turned his head slowly, his dark eyes burned into her green desperate ones. A wicked grin graced his extremely pale features making her step back. Memories of the day when she almost died, by her own poisoned kunai flashed before her eyes. Her stomach churned violently as everything about the boy In front of her screamed of darkness. Sasuke Uchiha was no longer in a place where she – or anyone else – could reach.

"Naruto is the one you should be worrying about," he told her in a matter-of-fact tone. The wicked smile slowly disappeared – replaced by a dead serious expression.

She answered him with a glare. He looked almost surprised to see hatred taking over her once fearful, innocent face. The thoughts running through her head would have shocked her years ago, but now she embraced the hatred she felt for the Uchiha with wide open arms. She grinned and watched with satisfaction as Sasuke's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh don't you worry, Sasuke-kun," she forced herself to keep grinning, "I will end this ridiculous quest of yours right here, right now,"

She disappeared and reappeared right next to Sasuke, forcing him back in order to be able to dodge her kick. She didn't let this deter her, instead she kept attacking him. A punch on his left and then on his right.

"He's constantly thinking…" she delivered blow after blow but he was faster and dodged them quite easily, "… about you! Always blaming himself!" she threw a kick at his leg and watched in satisfaction as he was forced to block this time, "and you deserve none of it!"

"Hn. He's a fool." He replied, barely managing to dodge another punch. She screamed angrily and he in return offered her a mocking smile.

"Sakura!"

The medic-nin stopped on her tracks as Kakashi's voice sounded from behind them. Her gaze stopped on her blond team-mate standing close to the masked-nin. Naruto's sad blue eyes broke her heart all over again.

"Sasuke," Naruto's blue eyes met dark inexpressive ones, "What have you done?"

Sakura cringed at Naruto's croaky voice. She watched impotently as Sasuke positioned himself in a battle stance. Naruto lowered his head, both his hands closed into fists. She wanted to get in the way, to make them see how all of this could be fixed somehow. But could it? Could it be fixed? The answer was obvious to her and even more obvious to the two of them.

She gasped when Naruto suddenly reappeared behind the Uchiha, the blue ball of chakra on his hand quickly hit Sasuke's back. Her eyes widened in horror as Sasuke's body disappeared and in its place was a wooden trunk – a replacement jutsu. She wanted to yell at them, to bring them to reason! She wanted to do something! She wanted to be able to stop all of this. A heavy hand squeezed her shoulder, making her whirl around to face her worried sensei.

"There are still Akatsuki nins in the village."

Even now, he still shielded her away. She knew what everyone thought of her when Sasuke Uchiha was concerned. She was not a silly little girl in love anymore! She shook her head but he increased the grip on her shoulder making her look up at him with tears swimming in her emerald orbs. Her silent plea was promptly ignored when he roughly shoved her away.

"You're a medic nin. Everyone is counting on you."

She swallowed hard and hesitantly walked away, shooting one last glance at what was left of team-seven. And then she ran. She ran until her muscles were on fire and she had a stitch in her side. She ran through the streets and alleys, not really conscious of her destination. Tears blurred her eyesight, but she ignored them and kept going until she collapsed on the side of a street, panting and sobbing at the same time. She stayed there for a while, trying to get her act together. She brushed away the last few tears from her eyes and took deep, calming breaths. Slowly, she pushed herself back up and looked over at the mountains where the Hokage's faces were carved.

"Shishou…"

She began running again, this time at full speed. Her feet were killing her and she felt like a plastic bag was wrapped around her head. She struggled for breath as she made it to the top. Her gaze scrutinized the area, noticing how a fight had taken place here. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes fell on the disfigured body not too far away from her. She approached slowly and then her world stopped as she stared at the open empty familiar blue eye. There were too many slashes to her face, making the flesh visible.

"_Ino!"_

Scream! Scream! Her mouth was open. But no sound would come out. She was going to vomit. Gagging, gulping down the flood of bitter fluid filling the floor of her mouth. Trying to swallow. Then it happened too fast. She was not even aware that they were moving up behind her. Just a sensation. A creeping chill at the base of her spine. And she turned around to see him. He grinned back at her flashing his sharp teeth, swinging his ridiculous gigantic sword as though it weighted nothing.

She immediately recognised him as Itachi's partner. She had read everything about him.

"You killed her," the accusation was answered with an amused laughter.

Ino was dead. She wanted to run at him and unleash all her hatred but she knew that she needed to keep herself in check. Kakashi's voice rang in her mind, "You are far too emotional Sakura."

Eyes narrowing, she waited. He looked quite tired but not as tired as she was. She glared at the damn sword. His sword was every medic-nin nightmare. She heard someone scream not too far away from them but she had no time to make sense of it as she was suddenly forced to duck Kisame's sword. Panic stricken she jumped backwards, trying to gain distance from him. She watched as the man disappeared, his speed was something she had never witnessed before. Gasping, Sakura forced herself to the left but his sword grazed her side. She cursed under her breath as an excruciating pain travelled through her entire body. Her eyes darted away to the blue-skinned man who smirked back at her.

"I thought I'd give you a souvenir." He snickered.

Sakura's hand was covered in blood as she massaged the wounded area. She frowned at the deepness of the cut. If she wasn't treated soon she would get one nasty infection. She tried to ignore her wound and glared at her opponent. This time when he came to her, she was ready. She jumped in mid-air, her feet landing on the edge of his sword. Pushing chakra to her feet, she ran through the swords blade, watching in satisfaction as the Akatsuki member's brows shot up in sheer surprise. She kicked him backwards and reappeared on his left side, her hand glowing blue. This was it.

But then there was a loud explosion, it seemed like it was coming from every direction. The force of the impact shoved both her and her enemy forward. She screamed in pain when her back hit the trunk of a tree. She closed her eyes tightly when she looked down at her shoulder; something had pierced a hole through it. With a shaky hand, she attempted to break the tree branch. She stopped dead on her tracks as she stared at the enormous red colour that was quickly consuming the entire landscape. Naruto! No. The Kyuubi's chakra!

The pink-haired Kunoichi felt as if someone was squeezing her own heart. There was no way that Sasuke could have survived. She watched powerlessly as the red chakra was advancing rapidly towards her direction. She closed her eyes as it hit her hard and painfully. Her eyes shot wide open as she felt the tree behind her shatter, pieces of wood stuck to her back. She screamed as she suddenly could no longer feel the ground beneath her. Her big emerald eyes started at the dark starred sky. Her hair was quickly all over her face, complicating her vision. She knew, she knew that she was falling down. What she wondered as she stretched her arms in vain was why was it taking so long for the impact to come.

And then as if on cue, the pain came. It hit her body at once. It was as if thousands of sharp knives crossed her body over and over again. She opened her mouth to breath but no air ever came. Her eyes opened and she realized she was under water. Almost unconsciously, she forced herself to reach the surface.

Right next to her was a large piece of wood. Panting, she held on to it, her finger nails dug on the weakened wood as she positioned herself into a safe position. As her eyelids closed against her will, a weak voice whispered into her ear, _"You must live."_

* * *

Sakura quietly shifted and slowly opened her eyes. She looked around with apprehension. _Where am I?_ She tucked her ruffled pink hair behind her ears only to realize that her hair was soaking wet... And so were her clothes... She blinked, and then a large wave hit her from behind, and she lost her balance struggling not to be swept back to the sea. She threw herself forward on the sand, and crawled away from the waves, until they were not able to reach her anymore. Short of breath, she looked around once again. There was the sea, and the shore, and behind her there were lights and the noise of people's voices swirling in the air, screaming, laughing, talking, singing; crying, maybe.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Her eyes stung, but she was not sure whether it was only the sea water... Suddenly it all came back to her... That hollow feeling... That wave of cold creeping over her, enveloping her, tugging on her body and soul... Her soul... If there was anything left from her soul after _that._

...If there was anything left from her, after she had slowly made her way across the village_..._ The village was silent and empty... Empty. It had felt as if Konoha was dead. The day was bright, but it was the day good enough for a funeral. There was no wind. It was humid. And cold... So cold, she could not even feel her toes.

The pink-haired kunoichi tried to sit but an excruciating pain on her left side reminded her of the nasty cut she had received when she fought with the fish-like man. Biting her lip to suppress a scream she lied down back on the sand. Her heart beat was beating so fast that she could even feel its pulsations on her throat. The memories, they came slowly one by one, filling her eyes with an empty void.

Sakura let out a loud cry and buried her head on the sand not bothered one bit the fact that her mouth was becoming so dry.

"By Kami!" a concerned loud voice spoke. Sakura ignored it as she kept crying her heart out, "Miss? Miss are you alright?"

Slowly, she raised her head to stare at a tall chubby woman. The tall woman was wearing a purple kimono and stared down at the pink-haired girl in absolute shock.

"You're from leaf too," she said as she crouched down next to Sakura, "You've got left behind?"

Sakura recoiled at the warm touch of the woman's delicate hands. Her head was racing at the woman's words. They made no sense.

"I'm sure if we send them a message… yes there is still time… oh my! You have quite a fever," the woman tone of voice seemed honestly concerned.

"N-Naruto…" Sakura whispered before her green eyes rolled back and once again fell unconscious.

* * *

Sakura Haruno woke up screaming, her heart pounding out a rhythm of terror. Fear was a living, breathing entity in the darkness of the strange room. The weight of it crushed her, held her helpless; she was unable to move. She could taste it in her mouth, and feel it coursing through her bloodstream. Around her, the air seemed so thick that her lungs burned for oxygen.

For a moment she lay frozen, her ears straining to hear the murmur of voices and sounds of steps approaching the room.

"Sir, please!" A female voice whispered. Sakura could hear the door knob move. Her heart skipped a beat as the door opened allowing a blinding white light to invade the room. She sat up, propping herself up by her elbows and peered directly into the light, her eyes adjusting without a flinch. A man emerged through the light dressed in what she recognised to be the ANBU uniform. He stopped at her feet and looked down at her pale face.

"Where did you get this?" said the man – his voice was deep, experienced and slow. Sakura blinked slowly at first, then she looked at him closely and then at the thing he carried in his hands – her headband.

"I…" she stuttered, "T-that's mine" she spoke quietly and frowned. Did he not recognise her? Where was Shishou? Naruto? Was he… was he alright?

The man looked quite impatient as if he had no time to play games, "Do not lie. You had it with you when we found you." He accused.

Sakura shook her head as confusion and fear spread through her face, "Of course I had it with me," she answered, feeling completely dumbfounded, "It's my headband that's why."

"I see. You decide not to collaborate then."

"Are you deaf?!" She shouted at him, losing her posture, "THAT HEADBAND BELONGS TO ME!" She stopped to take a deep breath, "Where is Tsunade-shishou? I demand to see her."

"Tsunade?" he questioned, immediately confused, "What are you on about? And who the hell are you to demand such thing?"

"Enough Hitoshi."

"B-but Yondaime sir!" Hitoshi started but the blond-haired man cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"I said enough. You can go now."

Sakura's jaw dropped as she stared at the tall man, "Yondaime?" she repeated as she leaned back in her pillow. She was feeling suddenly quite lightheaded.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Flaming Heart**_

* * *

"Are you feeling any better?" The blond-haired man asked, his bright blue eyes scanned her searchingly, "The medic informed me that you received quite the dangerous wounds…"

Was she feeling any better? Certainly not. She tried to focus, what the hell was going on? How could this be? How could this be happening? It was impossible. She could not be in the past and this man could not be the _Yondaime. _She had survived whatever had happened and this was probably some sick joke shishou was playing on her. Where was Naruto? Oh Kami, was he alright? And Kakashi-sensei… _please let them be okay_.

"Do you…" there was a hint of hesitation in the man's voice. He didn't seem to be sure on how he should approach the wanted subject, "do you… want to talk about it?"

"Look… this is a joke, right? Where is Tsunade-shishou?" she asked quietly, moving her shaking hands to her lap. She looked down and stared at the bed's sheets, aware that he was still looking at her.

He frowned at the young pink-haired woman in front of him, "Tsunade is away. How do you know Tsunade?" the gentleness in his voice had faded completely.

She was beginning to panic a little now. This was no joke, was it? Swallowing hard, she shook her head, refusing to say another word. What would she say? How would anyone react to what she had to say? They would probably throw her in some dark room and label her as some lunatic. Who on earth would ever believe her when herself was also having a hard time to cope with reality? Maybe she should just run. But, who was she kidding? How could she run past him?

Unconsciously, she found her legs moving, her toes touched the cold floor.

Minato seemed to be aware of what she was thinking; with a small smile he calmly placed a hand on her shoulder and held her in place, "I promise you that while you're here, no harm will ever come to you."

Sakura studied his face, trying to figure out whether or not she should trust the man in front of her. Slowly, she allowed herself to relax and take in his soothing words. What choice did she really have? She was scared and confused and so she clung on to him. She nodded and watched in surprise as a wide grin broke into his serious face.

"Good, good. Now, who are your parents? I would like to contact them and tell them that you are safe."

A sad smile slowly crept into her pale features, "My parents are dead, sir," she raised her head and locked her eyes with his, "I was living with my grandmother. She has a small house in Grass Country but… she passed away. This is why I decided to return to Konoha."

She took in a deep breath and prayed to every existing God that the man would believe her. Lying was never one of her strengths. It was one of those things that Tsunade-shishou kept criticizing about her. _'One of the many qualities that a ninja needs to achieve success is to know how to lie a flawless lie,' _she suddenly wished she had spent more time and energy trying to learn how to conceal her emotions like Sai did.

Minato blinked at the obvious and blatantly lie. How could she explain the leaf headband then? And how in Kami's name did she know Tsunade? He had so many questions but he felt better not to press her just yet. So he simply nodded in understanding and offered her a sympathetic smile.

"I am sorry to hear such sad news. Perhaps we should discuss your stay?"

Sakura stiffened. She noticed that there was a shift on the man's tone of voice. Despite being a terrible liar, she was incredibly good at noticing people's behaviour. The Yondaime looked more aware and she realised that he knew. He knew that she had been lying but said nothing – did nothing. She narrowed her eyes, growing suspicious of the man.

"So if you'll follow me, we will adjourn to my office. You will find that the pain medication you were administered is now taking effect, meaning you will feel no pain."

She opened her mouth to ask what medication exactly but refrained from doing so. Slowly, she rose from the bed and stretched her legs to test her own strength. He was right. There was no pain whatsoever. Satisfied, she stood and followed him. She noticed that she was wearing a white hospital gown which made her stop on her tracks.

"I will need some… clothes… and shoes." She spoke from behind him.

Minato whirled around and chuckled loudly, he scratched the back of his head and apologised. Then he wandered away, telling her that he would return with clothes and shoes. She watched him go; her heart beat increased at the opportunity to run. She looked around, her eyes searching for something that might give away a ninja presence and when she found none, she fought the urge to simply start running like a madwoman. Even if she was successful in running away, where would she go? She had nowhere to go or more precisely, she had nowhere to be. Her family and friends were gone.

Suddenly the air around seemed thicker. Clenching a hand to her chest, she tried to take small even breaths but in vain. The thought of being completely alone was crushing her.

Naruto. Sai. Kakashi-sensei… Ino.

Oh Gods, Ino. The sight of her best-friend mutilated body made her weak in the knees. She bumped her shoulder against the wall to stop herself from falling. And then, she saw nothing. It was as if she was suddenly blind and deaf to everything around her. She was suddenly on the ground, retching and gasping and then she was on the run. Running, she had no idea where she was running to, but she just wanted to keep going, somewhere – anywhere. She needed to stop thinking, this entire thing just couldn't be happening. No and no.

She had tears streaming down her face. She was stumbling, falling, picking herself up again to keep running only to trip over herself once more. She was sobbing, gasping for breath.

A shadow dashed after her. The tall masked man had his one visible eye settled on the woman. Her behaviour was unlike anything he had ever seen before. He could say she was scared, terrified, in fact. Though of what he could not even begin to imagine. He could hear her sobbing and choking. Watched as she kept struggling forward despite her stumbling, so blinded by her tears that she did not know where she was going. He concluded that she was not an ordinary citizen either, she was too fast. When he finally caught up with her, she collapsed once more. This time she did not try and get up. She just laid there, her head in her hands, sobbing and trying to catch her breath. She couldn't breathe. She was hyperventilating.

Kakashi Hatake, for about the only time in his entire life, was at loss. He took her by the shoulders.

The pink-haired girl was looking at him, near blue in the face from her gasping, her chest rising and falling rapidly with her quick and near non-existent breathing.

"Shhh!" he said, "Breathe." He blew out.

She copied him, still sobbing in between. She blew out again taking her eyes from him. She did it once more and could feel herself breathing more normally now. She sat up. She looked up at him.

"Kakashi? Oh thank Kami." Her voice was quiet and full of desperation, and she was still sobbing as she spoke, "I'm home… I'm home."

"How do you know my name?" he asked her quietly, his hand clutching hard to her shoulder to keep her in place.

She winced and when her blurred vision cleared she felt sick again. Kakashi. A very much younger version of her sensei was glaring down at her.

A new wave of dizziness claimed her and this time darkness came along.

How would it be to have a new life? It was like a white sheet of paper on which she would be able to write whatever she wanted, but this time more carefully, more cautiously, more wisely, more deliberately… or perhaps not. Perhaps she would change nothing. Then again, how could she not change the future? Not changing the future would mean that she doesn't care what happens to her family and friends. Right now, she has the power to save everything and everyone. But that was a responsibility that scared the shit out of her.

Groaning, Sakura tossed and turned on the hospital bed. What would she change, then? Somehow she could not concentrate, and it annoyed her, almost as much as the fact that she could not sleep.

It was the second sleepless night in a row and she was tired of her own musings, tired of thinking. She pulled a pillow from under her head and pressed it to her face muffling her loud screams. The Yondaime's smile brought her painful memories. It was like faith was rubbing it on her face, reminding her of Naruto on purpose. There was also this odd feeling about the blond-haired man, it was as if she was supposed to figure out something rather obvious but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

And he knew, the Yondaime knew she was pretty much lying and yet he had allowed her to stay. Though, she was under his team supervision, whatever that meant. She shuddered and turned in bed again as she curled into a ball. Kakashi… he totally heard her say his name and yet he had not told the Yondaime. What was he playing at? Knowing him as she did, he would probably try to gather information by himself.

She smiled to herself. No one would ever know about her secret.

A loud knock on the door brought her back from her reverie. She turned around almost excitedly. The Yondaime had told her that he would find her a proper place for time being which meant that she was finally getting rid of the hospital.

"Come in!"

Sakura eyed the door expectantly. She watched in sheer curiosity as a short brown-haired girl shyly stepped inside, she was carrying a small bag. The girl bowed in respect, "Ano, are you Sakura Haruno?"

"Yup! That's me," Sakura replied, noticing the purple stripes on the girl's cheeks. She looked somewhat familiar but of course she was imagining it, "And you are?"

"Oh! I am Rin." She bowed again.

A chuckle escaped Sakura's lips, "You are so polite. Are those clothes?" She asked pointing at the bag. She was dying to put something on other than the hospital clothes. She beamed excitedly when Rin nodded in response. Smiling, she accepted the bag.

"Ano… You will be staying with me for now…" Rin said, avoiding eye contact. She was hoping that the pink-haired girl would like the clothes, "Also… we will be team mates,"

Sakura dropped the clothes and whirled around to face the brunette. She forced a smile into her face, "Really? That's great!" she spoke with feigned excitement. To be honest, she had far more important things on her mind than forming a team right now. She had to gather information. There was no time to play ninja with petty missions. She had lives to save.

"Rin!"

A very familiar voice sounded from behind them. Both girls turned around at the same time. Sakura's heart dropped at that very moment. Her hands began to tremble but she hid them behind her back. She told herself to breath and then looked away – suddenly finding the small painting on the wall quite fascinating.

"I have been looking for you." Kakashi sounded upset, "I told you I would be coming too, didn't I?"

Rin's cheeks grew red and she nodded slowly before she apologised, "I thought you wouldn't come…" she whispered, finding it weird that he would want to come to meet the new girl. Normally, he would not care.

Sakura's gaze snapped back to the silver-haired young man. No way! Her jaw dropped. When she thought that things could not get any worse; there she was – stuck in Kakashi's team. Bloody fantastic.

"Well I did, didn't I?" he hissed furiously. He took a step forward; his hand wrapped around Rin's wrist and forced her out the door.

The pink-haired girl blinked as the door was closed and she was left alone. As she turned around to face her clothes, she shrugged. Who would have thought that Kakashi-sensei was an asshole in his younger days? Now that she thought about it, she didn't know much about her sensei at all. She knew what he liked to drink, what his favourite food was and that he always carried that perverted book around. Kami, she didn't know him at all.

Once she was finished dressing, she walked towards the door. She stopped and leaned in. She couldn't hear anything. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and was surprised to find Rin standing there all by herself in the middle of the hallway.

* * *

The two girls walked side by side.

Sakura was doing an excellent job at pretending that no one was staring at her. Her eye twitched slightly as she considered throwing a tantrum. She wanted to break limbs, reattach them and then break them again. How rude! It was only after a while that Sakura finally realised that they weren't staring at her but at the brunette.

Rin was indifferent to all the staring, meaning that she was more than used to it.

"Hard to believe she's still a kunoichi isn't it?"

"Tell me about it. I heard her family disowned her."

Sakura came to a stop, one hand at her hip as she glared at the two women, "Do you two old hags have a problem?" she asked nonchalantly.

The two women seemed quite taken back with the pink-haired girl's attitude. One of them sneered and turned her back on them, "Just who is that?"

"I don't know. I've never seen her before." The other woman replied as she too began walking away.

Sakura blinked, "Oi! I asked-"

"Sakura-san," Rin said with a small smile, "Just ignore them. They're not worthy. Really."

Sakura eyed her suspiciously, not really buying the whole i-don't-care-façade. With a heavy sigh she let it go, "I just hate when people talk like that about my friends."

Rin came to a sudden halt to look back at Sakura. Friends. How long had it been that someone would call her that? Kakashi certainly didn't see her as a team mate, much less as a friend, "We're friends?" she asked quietly, her eyes now resting on the ground.

"Of course!" Sakura replied with a wide grin, "We're team mates too, aren't we?"

Rin nodded slowly, all words of cautious from Kakashi were quickly forgotten.


End file.
